


Bittersweet

by NoonoosKitchen



Series: Shukitashu canapés [23]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Metaphorical pining, Pre-Relationship, is that a thing? idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26735827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoonoosKitchen/pseuds/NoonoosKitchen
Summary: Without knowing it, Yusuke had resigned himself to deal with the bitter taste of life, until someone helped him discover how to sweeten it up a bit.
Relationships: Kitagawa Yusuke/Kurusu Akira, Kitagawa Yusuke/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Shukitashu canapés [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615258
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	Bittersweet

Yusuke didn't like bitter coffee. In fact, he had never liked bitter drinks, even if he was used to drinking them since Madarame always insisted that tea should be taken plain, the traditional and only way in which you could properly appreciate its flavour. Yusuke had asked to change it quite a few times when he was little, but his proposition was always met with stern eyes and a fake gentleness to his sensei’s words.

As such, when Sojiro told him he should drink the coffee black, he did. Because that’s what he was told to do, and he always complied.

At the beginning, he just tried not to ask for or order coffee, since he didn’t want to waste the time and money of the ones that so graciously allowed him to spend time in the calm atmosphere of Leblanc. But after refusing their offer for the fourth time, he started to feel bad; as discourteous as it was to order something he didn’t actually enjoy, it was just as rude to decline their kind offers.

And just like that, he found himself consuming a cup of that achingly bitter drink every time he simply wished to run away from reality for a while, or spend some quiet time in the company of his good friend Akira. He was confident that he could control his facial expression from showing his distaste quite well, so he was not worried about his true disposition showing. He just concentrated on ignoring the overwhelming taste coating his tongue with every single sip.

Though it turned out he wasn’t as good an actor as he thought.

It was on one particular hot summer night, right after Boss had already closed shop for the day. Yusuke wanted to spend a bit more time with Akira and bask in his gentle smile, so he asked him for a cup of coffee. He would have prefered to have curry instead, but he didn’t want to make the other boy spend time in the kitchen when he could be by his side, and he also didn’t want him to waste his food on him.

That is how he found himself sitting on the counter stool, observing Akira meticulous hands working on their beverages as the café was filled with comfortable silence. He would gladly drink as many coffees as it took to be able to enjoy these small moments of respite next to his most trusted friend.

Just before his mind was about to get lost in his active daydreaming trying to think up a new project related to hands, Akira’s voice yanked him back to reality.

“Hey, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask for a while…” His leader began, words sounding a bit hesitant.

Taken slightly aback, Yusuke shifted his gaze from the dexterous fingers to Akira’s face. “Please, do not restrain yourself. I’ll try to answer to the best of my abilities.”

“Ok…” The other responded, lifting his eyes from his handy work and gluing them to the artist, locking them with his. “Do you actually like my coffee?”

“Huh?” Yusuke’s eyes widened at the question, having expected something else to be asked taking into account Akira’s uncertainty. “Of course, why would you think I don’t?”

“When you eat or drink something you like you look… I don’t know, you smile and your face brightens and you just... look very happy,” Akira admitted, pushing his glasses up his nose and hiding his face behind his open palm. “But you don’t do that when drinking coffee. It got me wondering.”

“... I apologise if I ever showed distaste for any of the things you offered me, I really didn’t mean to be rude.”

“What?” The surprise was clear in his face, and he blinked in disbelief a few times. “You’re not doing anything of that. I just don’t want to give you stuff you don’t like.”

“I see, I am glad to hear that,” the artist said, lowering his eyes to the dark-wood counter. When the silence lasted for a few more awkward seconds, he realised Akira was still awaiting his reply. “... Yes, I must confess I do not enjoy bitter drinks.”

“Why didn’t you say anything then?” The brunet asked, his eyes taking in a sign of annoyance, but when he saw Yusuke avoiding his gaze, he quickly tried to turn the tables. “Let’s try this instead.”

Picking up the almost untouched cup, he transferred some of the dark liquid into a separate cup and dug under the counter, producing a small ceramic container. Yusuke’s head tilted to the side, wondering what was inside, but before he was able to ask he saw Akira turning around and walking to the fridge, opening it and taking a bottle of milk. He returned to his previous place, opened the container and put a spoonful of sugar into the cup, just to then add a splash of milk until the coffee turned a light brown colour.

After swirling the spoon around for a bit, he deemed his work finished and presented it in front of a confused looking Yusuke.

“Sojiro frowns at me if he sees me do that, so I try to hide it,” he confessed with a small laugh. “Give it a try.”

Gingerly, Yusuke reached out and grabbed the handle of the hot cup, blowing a bit on the scorching drink before taking a small sip.

His breath hitched slightly when the sweetness invaded his mouth, the warmth of the drink traveling to all his body as it went down his oesophagus and into his stomach. 

Moth agape, he looked up to a smiling Akira, a light dust of pink hiding behind the black rim of his glasses.

“See? That’s the face you make when you like something.”

“Akira!! Is this really coffee!?” He couldn’t help but ask in an excited voice, even if he knew it totally was. “It tastes… it tastes marvellous!!”

“I’ll make you milk coffee from now on then,” he responded, gracing the artist with a Joker-esque grin.

“Truly? Can you really do that?”

“Yeah, I’ll just ignore Sojiro’s glares.”

Yusuke felt his lips curve into a big smile, unconsciously clutching the cup of coffee he was holding close to his chest. He pressed his tongue against his palate and took a little gulp, enjoying the last traces of sweetness before taking another small sip.

Of course Akira would be able to transform a drink he disliked within seconds, making him enjoy it a great deal now. That was just the type of power Akira had. Forget about his wits, his cleverness and his impressive acrobatics in the Metaverse. Akira’s value rested on the kindness of his heart, his endless empathy and his will to help those in need. And Yusuke knew of those qualities first hand.

Not only with Leblanc’s exquisite coffee, Akira had also managed to brighten the artist’s life, first by saving him from his abusive mentor and then by being at his side as Yusuke discovered the wonders of the world. Akira himself was a spoonful of sugar and a splash of milk in Yusuke’s life, and he liked that comforting flavour so, so very much.

As he kept thinking about that, Yusuke idly rubbed his thumb on the white ceramic of the cup, slowly feeling the warmth of the hot drink travel to his cheeks. He looked up to find Akira walking around the counter, his own drink in hand, and taking a seat next to the artist with a small smile on his chapped lips.

Yusuke’s chest suddenly felt tight for some reason, so he decided to take his eyes off his dear friend and take another sip of the sweet coffee to see if he could calm himself down.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading <3
> 
> [ twitter ](http://twitter.com/nature_check)


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